Free Republic

A 64-year-old US woman this week became the first person to use a “suicide pod” to end her life — and several people have been detained in Switzerland over the death. The woman, a Midwesterner who was not named publicly, died Monday afternoon in the portable, 3D-printed chamber called a Sarco, short for “sarcophagus” — and dubbed the “Tesla of euthanasia” — near the Swiss-German border, according to the assisted-suicide group Exit International. The woman suffered from “severe immune compromise,” the group said. Switzerland is one of the few countries where foreigners can travel to legally end their lives through...

The Sarco suicide pod has been used for the first time, its creators have confirmed, with an American woman aged 64 believed to be the first person to have died in the device 'under a canopy of trees' in Switzerland. Police in northern Switzerland said that several people were detained on Monday, and that prosecutors had opened an investigation on suspicion of incitement and accessory to suicide. The 'Sarco' suicide capsule is designed to allow a person inside to push a button that injects nitrogen gas into the sealed chamber, according to its creators. The person is then supposed to...

An assisted suicide device dubbed the “Tesla of euthanasia” is facing backlash after it was set to be used for the first time next week in Switzerland. The pod, named Sacro, created by 76-year-old Dr. Philip Nitschke was scheduled for use sometime next week in Switzerland, according to Metro. However, prosecutors are now reportedly fighting to ban its use, the outlet reported. While voluntary assisted suicide is legal in the country, some are questioning if it’s idealizing death, with some pro-life groups arguing the pods “glamorise suicide,” the Daily Mail reported. The pod is supposed to fill with nitrogen and...

The headline in the Scottish Daily Express succinctly summarizes the reaction to a recent invention by Australian Dr. Philip “Death” Nitschke: “Outrage as scientist backs gas chamber ‘death pod’ scheme for Scotland.” Nitschke has become notorious over the past several years due to his high-profile promotion of his “do-it-yourself death pods,” airtight capsule-shaped pods in which the suicidal can seal themselves and release a nitrogen gas that will knock them out in 60 seconds and kill them within 10. It is not as swift a death as the lethal injection method but does have the benefit of ensuring that other...

Ranchers: immigrants are causing problems Goliad County area ranchers say their children can't ride their bikes on county roads because of vehicles zooming past, bulging with undocumented immigrants. Many complain about large numbers of illegal immigrants roosting on and around their lands. "Parts of my land look like a city dump," said Bill Parmley, 49, a petroleum geologist and landowner. "It takes hundreds of these people to litter this much." Parmley is one organizer of the Sarco Concerned Citizens group, which is forming the first Texas affiliate of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, which will work with local law enforcement,...

GOLIAD - A citizen-based border patrol group that originated in Arizona will train its first Texas affiliate this weekend in Goliad, local organizers said this week. Chris Simcox, co-founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, will conduct the training on the organization's standard operational procedures, said Bill Parmley, a resident of Sarco in South Goliad County. A public meeting and media interviews with Simcox and border-area ranchers and property owners are planned for 7 p.m. Monday at Memorial Auditorium in Goliad. Parmley is among south Goliad County residents who organized months ago to stop illegal immigration through their area. The...

GOLIAD — Even in South Texas, these pickups stand out in the sheriff's impound lot. There are just too many to ignore. Not so noticeable are the mats or tarps discarded in the beds of the 50 or so trucks; they were used by undocumented immigrants to hide underneath on their journey north. Each vehicle here marks a failed attempt, and lately, there have been a lot of them. Historic Goliad County, 200 miles from the border, again finds itself at the center of a war — not against the Mexican army, but against undocumented immigrant smuggling. Sheriff Robert DeLaGarza...